- The Irish Travel Agents Association confirmed no evidence of holiday surcharges despite rising fuel costs linked to the Gulf region.
- No price increases have passed on to consumers by Irish tour operators to date.
- Irish package holidays now base themselves on scheduled airline services rather than charter flights.
- Airlines such as Ryanair and Aer Lingus have hedged fuel costs which helps stabilise prices.
- Long haul destinations to the Far East and Australia or New Zealand recorded increased costs
The Irish Travel Agents Association has confirmed no evidence of holiday surcharges by Irish tour operators despite rising fuel costs. ITAA members have reported that no such increases have passed on to consumers to date. The structure of the Irish travel market has evolved with most package holidays now based on scheduled airline services rather than charter flights.
The Package Travel Directive allows tour organisers to increase prices by up to 8pc outside of 20 days prior to departure in response to factors such as fuel costs. Popular destinations across the Western Mediterranean including Spain and Portugal continued to perform strongly while pricing on transatlantic routes became more competitive in many cases. Long haul flight costs to destinations such as the Far East and Australia or New Zealand increased.
Travellers who paid a deposit rather than the full amount at booking face susceptibility to a surcharge on the ticket cost. The ITAA keeps the situation under review with no indication of widespread price increases or surcharges impacting Irish consumers other than for long haul destinations.
Tom Randles shared “At present, we are not seeing any evidence of fuel-related surcharges being applied to Irish holidaymakers. Airlines such as Ryanair and Aer Lingus have hedged their fuel costs, which is helping to stabilise prices in the short term. In addition, there is still strong seat availability across many routes, and airlines remain focused on filling capacity rather than increasing fares significantly.”
“For consumers this presents an opportunity. Prices remain competitive, particularly for short-haul destinations, and we would advise those considering a holiday to book sooner rather than later to secure the best value.”
